For web-based printing media are fed into the printing system from a media roll supported in a media roll holder. The media roll holder rotatably holds the media roll in an operative position while the media roll is unspooled towards the print heads. To ensure accurate positioning of the medium with respect to the print heads, the media roll needs to be securely held against pulling forces acting on the roll from the printing system via the unwound medium. It is known from DE3218545C2 to apply three concentrically positioned wheels around the media roll, wherein a top wheel is provided with a spring for urging the top wheel against the media roll. Thereby, the media roll is urged against the remaining wheels. A disadvantage of the known media roll holder is that the media roll may still be able to move under the influence of relatively large forces. A larger pretension in the spring may be applied, but this results in excess forces in the media roll as well as a very large force to be overcome when opening the media roll holder for loading a new media roll. The pretension continually acts on the roll and may hamper the rotation of the media roll, as the forces on the roll may become sufficiently large to affect its rotation. The medium can then no longer be transported with sufficient precision, which may result in reduced print quality or print artifacts.